KEY ACTION Approved the purchase of four battery-operated ambulance cots at a cost of $67,491. Trustees also authorized four seven-year warranty plans for the cots at a cost of $18,848.

DISCUSSION Fire Chief Mark Martin said the department's fleet of cots is about 10 years old and in constant need of repair.

No preventive maintenance plan was put in the place for the cots, he said, and it's becoming harder to purchase replacement parts to fix them.

The new cots have battery-operated hydraulic lifts which allow for the cots to be lowered and raised with the touch of a button, Martin said.

The fire department, he said, received a safety grant of $25,934 from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation to help pay for the cots. The township's share will be $41,557.

Martin said over the past four years, $200,000 in workers compensation claims have been filed by fire department personnel because of injuries that occurred while lifting or lowering the cots.

"There is now way to quanitate the injuries it will prevent but you can see what we have spent in four years (for claims)," Martin said.

The cots, he said, are capable of lifting 700 pounds.

Martin noted he will still need to purchase a new cot for the backup ambulance and he is considering purchasing a bariatric cot to accommodate larger patients.

Right now, the township uses mutual aid with Jackson Township, which has a bariatric cot.

"People are not getting lighter," Martin said. "There are several individuals in the township who are over 700 pounds and we run on them routinely."

A standard cot costs about $8,000, Martin added.

Martin said the preventive maintenance and warranty plan will cover the cost of annual maintenance and replacement costs. It will also replace batteries, which are about $400 each.

"Part of the issue with the old cots is there was no preventive maintenance," he said. "Taking care of these cots will extend the cots beyond the seven years."

OTHER ACTION Approved a one-year agreement with Emergitech to provide maintenance for the township police department's record management software at cost of $$4,957.

• Approved a memorandum of understanding with the University of Akron for the township's participation in the Stark County OVI Task Force. Police Chief Mike Pomesky said the agreement allows township police officers to work sobriety checkpoints and receive reimbursement for their work.

• Learned no one bid to demolish three township properties. Zoning officer Scott Weckbacher said the qualified contractors were scared off by the Dec. 31 deadline to complete the project. Moving Ohio Forward will reimburse the township half of its costs to demolish the properties, he said. The deadline to demolish the properties has been pushed back to May 31 and once that deadline is confirmed in writing, the township will rebid the project.

• Set a public hearing for 7 p.m. Dec. 3 regarding a street lighting district at 12th and Sippo Streets SW. Fiscal officer Joe Schlegel said three street lights at a cost of $10 each per month. The district would include 11 parcels and cost $16.36 every six months or $32.72 per year per parcel.

UP NEXT: Meets at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at the administrative office, 3111 Hilton St. NW.